Gun Control supporters believe Sandy Hook shooting could be tipping point

Presidential backing and national horror could lead to new push for gun control

Gun control advocates believe the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which left 28 people dead, 20 of them children, could bring tangible change to the nation’s gun laws. As shooting sprees and mass killings follow each other with shocking regularity, a serious debate over gun control, largely lacking for the last decade, could be at hand.

“Pressure is mounting,” Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) said, reported the Washington Post. “We have an epidemic problem. This is ridiculous. We’ve got to act as a nation.. . .I’m just going to encourage the president to get out there and insist that there needs to be some legislation passed.”

Visibly shaken in the wake of the shooting, President Obama pledged to take “meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of politics,” according to MSN.

Not up for reelection, and perhaps less fearful of a gun lobby that spent millions on many losing candidates in 2012, Obama and the Democrats could take action on an issue that was rarely discussed during the campaign.